


AAA Girls Kitten Rescue

by Mistressaq



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, Gen, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 07:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12743652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistressaq/pseuds/Mistressaq
Summary: the one where theres a mom and kittens found under the tour bus





	AAA Girls Kitten Rescue

Halfway through the Acess All Areas tour, Courtney was practically a zombie. She never learned the words, stumbling over the same verses at nearly every show. Alaska and Willam teased her endlessly, but she knew it was all in good fun. Alaska was often quiet after shows, when she wasn’t quoting _The Golden Girls_ or belting along to showtunes. Willam chatted away with their manager as they all headed back to the bus they knew so well.  
As she approached, Courtney started twisting in her shoes. She’d switched into sneakers, and there was a squeaking sound as she walked. No matter what position she angled her arches, the squeaking continued. The Aussie stopped in place.  


“Court, what’s up?” croaked Alaska, who had almost run into her.

“Zhhh,” Courtney held up a finger.

“Courtney what the fuck?” demanded Willam as he approached.  


“SHHHHH!” Courtney waved her finger around. There was silence for a moment. “D’you hear that?”

“Is that the bus?” Alaska asked, turning to Rich. “The brakes or something?”

He shook his head. “Bus ain’t even on. The hell is that?”  


Courtney gingerly approached the bus. The noise seemed to be coming from underneath. Sure enough, the closer Courtney got, the clearer it was that the squeaking noise was real… and…  


“Hey ‘Lask can you shine a light unda here?”  


There was a shuffle as the taller queen pulled out her phone and turned the flashlight on. Immediately white light flooded the darkened underside of the tour bus, revealing a mess of fur. The squeaking stopped.  


Courtney turned back to look at her sister, both wearing similar expressions of shock.  


Willam stomped over. “What’s under there-- IS THAT A CAT?!”  
A pair of emerald green eyes with diamond pupils squinted back at them. Alaska took the light out of the cat’s eyes. The shift in light revealed a number of reflections in the dark. Another angle (which required Alaska to get on her knees and peer into the foot-high crawl space) revealed that Willam was wrong.  


“Not cat,” Alaska started. “ _Cats_ , plural,” she drawled.  


Courtney looked back at Willam and Rich. “She’s got kittens with ‘a.”  


Alaska inched even closer, moving slowly so she wouldn’t scare the mother further. “Oooh, they’re new,” she reported. “Like new-new, like hours old new.”  


“Well shit, can she be moved?” asked Willam.  


Courtney shook her head. “I dunno.”  


“They can’t stay here,” Rich said. 

Courtney turned back to the animals. “So what do we do then?”  


Alaska slowly extended a long arm toward the mother, reaching her finger at the cat’s nose. She didn’t growl or hiss at Alaska, and tolerated it when the strange tall hairless cat prodded at her forehead and behind her ears. “Well she’s not hostile.”  


Courtney squatted next to Alaska and similarly reached out to introduce herself to their new acquaintance. “She seems pretty clean. Maybe she ran away from somewhere?”  


By this time their other tour manager, LJ came up carrying some paperwork. The heavily tatted woman stood questioningly at the sight of all of her crew outside the bus. “Guys, what’s going on? We gotta go.”  
Willam waved her over and explained the situation. Tour Mom extraordinaire, LJ snapped into action. “We gotta get them out from under there. Alaska, the mom trusts you?”  
Alaska nodded. She’d been able to stroke down the cat’s spine and check her off-white fur for mud and dirt. There was a little dried blood, but she seemed to do a pretty good cleanup job on herself. Courtney tenderly scratched the cat behind her ears. Neither dared touch the kittens.  


LJ handed out orders. “Rich, find us a box or a bin to put these guys in. Willam you get to work packing up like normal. Alaska you’ll be the one transferring the cats from there to the bin, you okay with that?”  
Alaska nodded. She wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of grabbing a fully grown cat by the scruff of her neck, but it was better than leaving her to get squashed in a parking lot.  


LJ tapped Courtney on the shoulder. “You wanna pack up or help Alaska?”  


Courtney didn’t have to think on it. “Oh, I’m here. I found them, I’m making sure they’re okay.”  


LJ nodded and went to help Willam with the packing up.  


Rich came bounding out of the bus with a cardboard box, about 2 ½ feet long, 18 inches wide and as tall as it was long. It was supposed to hold papers, and would likely be easy for the mother to jump in and out of, but it would have to do. He had thrown a thin lining of towel inside; it didn’t cover all the base but again, it would have to do.  


Alaska took a deep breath. Now she had to force the cat out from under the bus. Preparing for the worst, Alaska remembered the shallow gashes Cerrone would leave behind when she tried to move him and he didn’t want to be moved. She crouched a little closer and slipped her fingers to the back of the cat’s neck.  


There was a growl when mother realized what Alaska was doing. Quickly Alaska hauled her into the box and let her down gently. Shrieks of cold and loss came out of the newborn kittens, and the drag queen made quick work of grabbing one round the middle in each hand and setting them down with their mother. She counted eight kittens, the last two much smaller than their siblings.  


After checking to make sure no kitten was left behind, Alaska gave Courtney a nod and they lifted the box up the steps and into the bus.  


There was barely enough room for all cats in the box to lie down. Alaska watched the mother lick one of her kitten’s tummies. A wet spot spread on the towel.  


Alaska tuned into a conversation between LJ and Courtney, with her fellow drag queen on an anti-shelter lecture.  
“There’s no promise they’ll get good homes! It’s more than likely the little babies will get euthanized!”  


LJ closed her Macbook. “I get that, I do. I don’t want them to die either, Courtney.” Her eyes were earnest. “But we can’t keep them on the tour bus!”  


“Why not?” pouted Courtney.  


Alaska smiled, letting her fingers roam down the cat’s back.  


LJ held up her hands. “Willam’s allergic, for one.”  


“Tell ‘im to take a fuckin’ Zyrtec then!”  


Alaska chuckled.  


Blue eyes stabbed in her direction. “You got something to say?”  


Alaska shook her head and smiled. “Just, did you actually ask if we could keep them on the bus?”  


“Yes,” answered LJ with an eyeroll. “She did.”  


“Courtney, we don’t know the first thing about newborn kitten care,” said Alaska.  


Courtney spread her hands. “Google exists!”  


“That it does.” Alaska chuckled and turned her attention back to the kittens.  


Rich came over with a medicine bottle cap filled with water. When Alaska raised an eyebrow at him he shrugged. “It’s the smallest we have.”  


The mother lapped at the refreshment gladly. Rich leaned against the wall opposite Alaska just to watch her drink. Some of her kittens were nuzzling at her teets. “New, you said?” 

Alaska picked at a fleck of dirt in the cat’s fur. “I think it’s around day… four? Three? That they open their eyes?” She pitched her voice up and waved a finger in front of a kitten’s face. “You’re pretty blind though aren’t you? Aren’t you?”  


“That sound good?” LJ’s voice demanded attention.  


Alaska pulled her hand out of the box and paid attention.  
“We’re hitting the road, there’s a 24 hour pet hospital 45 minutes away, and it’s in the direction we’re going. Checking out the cats, seeing if mom has a chip, sound good?”  
Courtney seemed pacified. Alaska nodded and returned to her petting activities, Rich watching adoringly. Willam was in his bunk and snoring.  
…  
After an hour of travel, an hour and a half of waiting and filling out paperwork they had no clue how to fill, the AAA tour crew (sans Willam) learned that the mother cat wasn’t chipped and hadn’t been reported missing.  
Something in Alaska was relieved, that they wouldn’t have to immediately say goodbye. The rest of her recognized how high maintenance kittens were, especially newborns. On top of tour, this was going to be really hard. It didn’t need to be discussed that they would keep the cats. There weren't any no-kill shelters on the way to where they were going.  


In addition to the no-chip news, the vet told them the two smallest kittens likely weren’t suckling, and would need lots of extra support to get their weight up. The mother needed a bath to get rid of some minor fleas. Vet bills being notoriously high, Alaska, Courtney and LJ agreed to go thirdsies.  


Before leaving, the vet let them take a bunch of pads for the floor of their box, a container of replacement kitten milk, a syringe and fake nipple to feed the kittens with.  
…  


“We should probably name them, so we can keep track of who is eating how much.”  


Courtney nodded and pulled out a notepad. “Should we name them all after queens?”  


Alaska smiled and picked up one of the runts. “Why not?” She opened it’s little legs. “The vet said there were five boys and two girls. And that if it looks like a circle, it’s a boy and if it looks like there’s a line, it’s a girl.” She tilted the cat in the light. “It’s so hard to tell though...girl.”  


“She’s so little,” remarked Courtney, rubbing the kitten’s belly. So soft, like velvet. “I’m small. Can we name the kitten after me?”  


Her eyes were so bright and hopeful, Alaska didn’t have it in her to say no.  


By the end of the great naming session, Alaska and Courtney had named the kittens: Fame, Latrice, Phi Phi, CJ, Rich, Alaska, Willam and Courtney. The mother they named Momma Michelle.  
…  


“Willam, you can hold him through a blanket, I swear, just stick the syringe in his face and let him go to town!”  


Willam had avoided the cat and her progeny as long as he could. As long as he didn’t touch the cats or anything the cats touched, he could keep living his life and not feeling like his face was falling off. But the little bastards needed feeding every hour or so, and everyone else was busy but him and Courtney.  


“Oh, fine.” Willam picked up the syringe, the outside already sticky from the solution leaking out of the plastic nipple. “Which of these greedy fuckers hasn’t eaten?”  


“Uh, Phi Phi.”  


“Which one is that?”  


“The, er, little one that isn’t Courtney.”  


“You named a cat after yourself?”  


“You could have been part of that conversation, I’m just saying.”  


“Whatever, this one?”  


Courtney nodded and Willam used a discarded shirt to pick up the kitten. So little. When he put the plastic nipple near Phi Phi’s tiny mouth, the kitten attacked the opening like it hadn’t eaten in days. “Damn,” said Willam. “How are you so skinny still?”  


Courtney wiped the mouth of the kitten she was feeding and put it back in the box with its siblings. “He’s been gaining weight really nicely.” She consulted her notepad. “Little guy gained five ounces since his first feed.” Courtney leaned over to scratch behind one of Phi Phi’s ears. “Didn’t you?”  


Willam felt a warm stirring in his chest. The kittens looked real ugly, but damn they were still cute.  
*  
_@Alaska5000: @courtneyact and @willam and i found this hot mawma under our tour bus yesterday! If anyone in Denver has experience with newborn kittens please come see us at our venue! [External Image]_  
“If this doesn’t get her at least a foster owner, I don’t know what will.” Alaska sent out the tweet, immediately scrolling past the cry-face emojis and ‘wish i could’s. Among the sea of useless comments, Alaska saw one from someone called KaraTheKittenLady. Viewing her profile, Alaska saw this Kara was a homely thirty-something who never posed with the same cat twice. Her bio said she fostered cats and kittens.  


Alaska sent a private message. An arrangement was set up. Kara was allowed into the girls’ dressing room half an hour before showtime. She carried a huge bag, big enough to put the whole family inside, complete with heating pad and soft towels inside. After cooing over the kittens for a little while, she brought out legal documents for them to sign, making her the official guardians of all eight cats, mother included.  


Alaska took a deep breath. After waking up day and night, having the whole tour group rally around the babies, it was hard to sign them away. But a tour was no place for such little ones, and they couldn’t provide the kind of care the kittens needed. Alaska put pen to paper.  


Courtney had a tear streak down her powdered cheek, pulling eyeliner with it. She wiped at the mess with the side of her hand. “I just,” she sobbed. “I’m gonna miss ‘em.”  


Kara chuckled warmly and pulled Courtney into a hug. The girl was shorter than Courtney, even without heels on. “I promise I’ll send lots of pictures,” she said. “And who knows, when you guys stop touring, maybe you’ll be ready to take one of these little guys home.”  


Courtney brightened. “I didn’t even think of that!”  


Kara took one of Courtney’s and Alaska’s hands when they had finished signing. “Thank you for saving their lives. I know how hard it must be for you to give them up now, but you did the right thing.”  


There was a final group hug among them, and Willam ran over to join, just because he hated being left out.  
…  
That night Alaska couldn’t fall asleep. She couldn’t help it after two nights spent up with the kittens, all of a sudden being allowed to sleep deeply, she couldn’t make her brain shut off.  


Of course they were well cared for, but did they get enough cuddles? Would Kara alone be able to give the affection the entire tour crew had been able to -- in addition to the other cats she fostered? Did she bother to learn their names?  


Around 2 am Alaska started hearing this light sighing-choking sound. She shoved the curtain to her bunk back and stuck her head out into the narrow hallway. Courtney was beneath her -- maybe she was mourning the loss of their tour pets too? She pulled back Courtney’s curtain. No, the twink was snoring like a squirrel.  


Maybe Rich, but he wasn’t that emotional. LJ hadn’t formed very much attachment, which meant…  


Alaska loudly shoved Willam’s curtain aside. His bunk was directly across from hers, and though he was facing the wall, Alaska clearly saw his shoulders shudder. “Willam?” she whispered loudly.  


The body across from her spooked, smacking the side of his knee on the ceiling of his bunk. “Ow! Fuck!”  


“Shhh!” Alaska knew LJ to be a light sleeper, and she also knew Willam would kill her if anyone found out he’d been crying.  


Willam turned to face her, the wetness on his cheeks reflecting the dim light from the city passing by. “What?”  


“You were crying,” said Alaska.  


“And you weren’t sleeping,” Willam countered.  


Alaska let a moment pass. “You miss them too.”  


Willam flopped over on his back. “Their faces are so fucking ugly I can’t help but feel bad for them.”  


Alaska smiled and extended her hand. Willam reached out and took it, squeezing a little, their secret code for ‘I don’t want to be alone’.  


Alaska scooted back in her bunk so she was flush with the wall. “Wanna come over?”  


Willam nodded and took great care in soundlessly rolling out of his bunk, landing on the floor, and hopping into Alaska’s. Alaska’s long body had to buckle at the knees to fit inside the glorified cupboard, and Willam’s knees stuck out of the bunk as a result. He didn’t mind, though, because Alaska’s soft, slow breathing steadied him. Her long hand poised on his hip, warming the skin beneath his boxers. He rested his own hand on top, and laced their fingers together. He felt Alaska nuzzle into the back of his head. As much as Willam hated his soft curls, Alaska and Courtney both loved them to no end. Willam buried his face in Alaska’s pillow (it smelled exactly like her). The taller queen ran her other hand softly through his hair. “Goodnight ‘Lask,” he said into the cotton.  


Alaska breathed hot into his ear. “Goodnight, Will.”

**Author's Note:**

> All info on kitten care is from Kitten Lady’s whole YT channel. Hannah was the inspiration for Kara. She’s really great for PMS crying needs.  
> originally posted to AQ on Oct. 7 2017


End file.
